Scott Huddleston: Plaza project is on a fast track

Anyone who’s got something to say about the proposed Medal of Honor Memorial and the future of Veterans Memorial Plaza should have Aug. 14 circled on the calendar.

That’s the date of the next public meeting on two potential designs for a granite wall that would wind through the 22-year-old plaza. The project is on an ambitious timeline, and there will be some issues to sort out.

If you read today’s report on the plaza project, you’ll see that developing this project will be a balancing act. SInce funds will have to be raised privately for the project — the early cost estimate is $750,000 to $1 million — it would be best to build up goodwill before the fund-raising officially begins in September.

On the other hand, the time to resolve concerns or objections is now. Mayor Phil Hardberger hopes to have the project completed by the time he leaves office in June 2009.

I suppose it would be best if the plaza work is completed before Municipal Auditorium is converted into a performing arts center, using $100 million from a voter-approved venue tax and $32 million in private funds. But the clock just started ticking on a two-year design phase for the auditorium, with construction expected to take another three years. Why rush plans to upgrade the plaza?

City officials say there’s already been a “misunderstanding” that the Korean War Memorial might be moved, based on a question the artist for the project had in May.

“There never was the slightest plan to do that,” Mayor Hardberger told me yesterday.

Now, there are some design challenges that shouldn’t be casually brushed aside. A few people are worried that the curving seven-foot wall designed by Arizona artist Barbara Grygutis may obscure views of the front of the auditorium, which is itself a war memorial, having been completed in 1926 as a tribute to the veterans of World War I.

John Baines, one of 14 members of a steering panel for the plaza project, said the wall might be a great stand-alone monument, but would be a “tragic mistake” for the plaza. Baines has a personal stake in this process, having led fund-raising in the 1980s for the plaza and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He makes a point that while the new memorial would spruce up the east side of the plaza, no one has come forward with plans to fix and upgrade the pavement, light fixtures and other features on the west side.

Baines isn’t happy with today’s article. He feels it had a “slant that favors the city” and didn’t tell the whole story. He thinks describing the plaza as a “dead zone” was insulting and a “slap in the face.”

I take personal responsibility for the “dead zone” phrase. The words were not meant to offend, but to convey that there’s little human activity in the plaza. I’ve heard it described by others this week as a “very, very lonely place,” one that’s “too sober” to engage people to spend time there. One reason the local Purple Heart memorial was built on county property near Main Plaza was because people felt few would see it in the veterans plaza.

People with praise and criticism of this new MOH memorial and plaza plan need to speak up now and in the weeks ahead, before the project goes up for consideration and approval in September by the Historic and Design Review Commission and the City Council. And don’t forget why this memorial is being planned — to honor 23 San Antonians who received the highest military honor for bravery. Some of them died in the act that afforded them that honor.

San Antonio’s ties to the medal include famous figures who once lived here, like Arthur MacArthur (Civil War) and his legendary son, Douglas MacArthur (World War II). There also are lesser-known figures who not only performed heroic deeds but had fascinating lives.

One of them, Jose Lopez, picked cotton and labored on ships as a parentless youth. In 1944, with German tanks advancing on his unit in Belgium, Lopez opened fire with his machine gun and kept firing, even as a shell blast knocked him over and bullets whizzed past. His actions saved his unit and gave U.S. troops time to rally against the German drive during the Battle of the Bulge.

There’s also Richard Rocco, once a troubled teen who enlisted in the Army as an alternative to be sent to jail for auto theft. Rocco saved three men in battle in Vietnam, despite severe wounds after a helicopter crash. Near the end of his life, he lived in San Antonio, being treated for cancer linked to his wartime exposure to Agent Orange. He would visit local middle schools to talk to students about character and try to sway them from drugs and violence. Rocco died in 2002.

If you have time, look up some of the other medal recipients with ties to San Antonio, like William Bordelon, Robert Cole, David Barkley, Milton Lee, Cleto Rodriguez and Roy Benavidez. At least two others, Robert Howard and Patrick Brady, are still living in the San Antonio area. Of the 3,448 people awarded the medal since it was created in 1861, only 102 are still alive, according to the Congressinal Medal of Honor Society.

As discussions on the new memorial and the plaza continue, there will certainly be some disagreement. Hopefully, people will remember some of those San Antonians, and what they fought for, as they work toward a plan for the plaza that honors all veterans.

For now, keep Aug. 14 marked on your calendar. I’ll let you know when a time and location for the next public meeting have been announced.

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One Response

You are absolutely correct. It is a dead zone and therefore has never received the attention and respect it so richly deserves. Hopefully this addition will enhance the area to make it something worthy of the historical attractions list for tourists.